United Nations ECOSOC supports U.N. assistance to Territories

Support to
Non-Self-Governing Territories by the specialized agencies and international
institutions associated with the United Nations

The Economic and Social Council,

Having examined the report of the
Secretary-General[1] and
the report of the President of the Economic and Social Council containing the
information submitted by the specialized agencies and other organizations of
the United Nations system on their activities with regard to the implementation
of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and
Peoples,[2]

Having heard the statement by the
representative of the Special Committee on the Situation with regard to the
Implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial
Countries and Peoples,[3]

Recalling General Assembly resolutions
1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960 and 1541 (XV) of 15 December 1960, the
resolutions of the Special Committee and other relevant resolutions and
decisions, including, in particular, Economic and Social Council resolution
2015/16 of 20 July 2015,

Bearing in mind the relevant provisions
of the final documents of the successive Conferences of Heads of State or
Government of Non-Aligned Countries and of the resolutions adopted by the
Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the African Union, the Pacific
Islands Forum and the Caribbean Community,

Conscious of the need to facilitate the
implementation of the Declaration on the Granting of Independence to Colonial
Countries and Peoples, contained in General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV),

Welcoming
the current participation, in their capacity as observers, of those Non‑Self-Governing
Territories that are associate members of the regional commissions in the world
conferences in the economic and social sphere, subject to the rules of
procedure of the General Assembly and in accordance with relevant resolutions
and decisions of the United Nations, including resolutions and decisions of the
Assembly and the Special Committee on specific Non-Self-Governing Territories,

Noting that only some specialized
agencies and organizations of the United Nations system have been involved in
providing assistance to Non-Self-Governing Territories,

Welcoming the assistance extended to
Non-Self-Governing Territories by certain specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system,

Stressing that, because the development
options of the small island Non-Self-Governing Territories are limited, they
face special challenges in planning for and implementing sustainable
development, and that they will be constrained in meeting those challenges
without the continuing cooperation and assistance of the specialized agencies
and other organizations of the United Nations system,

Stressing also the importance of
securing the resources necessary for funding expanded programmes of assistance
for the peoples concerned and the need to enlist the support of all the major
funding institutions within the United Nations system in that regard,

Reaffirming the mandates of the
specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system to
take all appropriate measures, within their respective spheres of competence,
to ensure the full implementation of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and
other relevant resolutions,

Expressing its appreciation to the
African Union, the Pacific Islands Forum, the Caribbean Community and other
regional organizations for the continued cooperation and assistance they have
extended to the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United
Nations system in that regard,

Expressing its conviction that closer
contacts and consultations between and among the specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system and regional organizations help to
facilitate the effective formulation of programmes of assistance for the
Non-Self-Governing Territories concerned,

Mindful of the imperative need to keep
under continuous review the activities of the specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system in the implementation of the various
decisions of the United Nations relating to decolonization,

Bearing in mind the extremely fragile
economies of the small island Non-Self-Governing Territories and their
vulnerability to natural disasters, such as hurricanes, cyclones and sea-level
rise, and recalling the relevant resolutions of the General Assembly,

Recalling General Assembly resolution
70/231 of 23 December 2015, entitled “Implementation of the Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples”,

1. Takes
note of the report of the President of the Economic and Social Council,2
and endorses the observations and suggestions arising therefrom;

2. Also
takes note of the report of the Secretary-General;1

3. Recommends
that all States intensify their efforts within the specialized agencies and
other organizations of the United Nations system of which they are members to
ensure the full and effective implementation of the Declaration on the Granting
of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, contained in General
Assembly resolution 1514 (XV), and other relevant resolutions of the United
Nations;

4. Reaffirms
that the specialized agencies and other organizations and institutions of the
United Nations system should continue to be guided by the relevant resolutions
of the United Nations in their efforts to contribute to the implementation of
the Declaration and all other relevant resolutions of the General Assembly;

5. Also
reaffirms that the recognition by the General Assembly, the Security
Council and other United Nations organs of the legitimacy of the aspirations of
the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories to exercise their right to self-determination
entails, as a corollary, the extension of all appropriate assistance to those
peoples, on a case-by-case basis;

6. Expresses
its appreciation to those specialized agencies and other organizations of
the United Nations system that have continued to cooperate with the United
Nations and the regional and subregional organizations in the implementation of
General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) and other relevant resolutions of the
United Nations, and requests all of the specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system to implement the relevant provisions
of those resolutions;

7. Requests
the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United Nations system
and international and regional organizations to examine and review conditions
in each Non-Self-Governing Territory so that they may take appropriate measures
to accelerate progress in the economic and social sectors of those Territories
on a case-by-case basis;

8. Urges
those specialized agencies and organizations of the United Nations system that
have not yet provided assistance to Non-Self-Governing Territories to do so as
soon as possible on a case-by-case basis;

9. Requests
the specialized agencies and other organizations and bodies of the United
Nations system and regional organizations to strengthen existing measures of
support and to formulate appropriate programmes of assistance to the remaining
Non-Self-Governing Territories on a case-by-case basis, within the framework of
their respective mandates, in order to accelerate progress in the economic and
social sectors of those Territories;

10. Recommends
that the executive heads of the specialized agencies and other organizations of
the United Nations system formulate, with the active cooperation of the regional
organizations concerned and on a case-by-case basis, concrete proposals for the
full implementation of the relevant resolutions of the United Nations and
submit those proposals to their governing and legislative organs;

11. Also
recommends that the specialized agencies and other organizations of the
United Nations system continue to review, at the regular meetings of their
governing bodies, the implementation of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV)
and other relevant resolutions of the United Nations;

12. Recalls
the preparation by the Department of Public Information and the Department of
Political Affairs of the Secretariat, in consultation with the United Nations
Development Programme, the specialized agencies and the Special Committee on
the Situation with regard to the Implementation of the Declaration on the
Granting of Independence to Colonial Countries and Peoples, of an informational
leaflet on assistance programmes available to the Non-Self-Governing
Territories and its updated online version, and requests that they be
disseminated as widely as possible;

13. Welcomes
the continuing efforts made by the United Nations Development Programme in
maintaining a close liaison between the specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system, including the Economic Commission
for Latin America and the Caribbean and the Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific, and in providing assistance to the peoples of the
Non-Self-Governing Territories;

14. Encourages
the Non-Self-Governing Territories to take steps to establish or strengthen
disaster preparedness and management institutions and policies;

15. Requests the administering Powers
concerned to continue their cooperation with the specialized agencies and other
organizations of the United Nations system, in the framework of the
responsibilities established in Article 73 of the Charter of the United
Nations, in particular subparagraph d,
and to facilitate, when appropriate, the participation of appointed and elected
representatives of Non‑Self-Governing Territories in the relevant meetings and
conferences of the specialized agencies and other organizations of the United
Nations system, in accordance with relevant resolutions and decisions of the
United Nations, including the resolutions and decisions of the General Assembly
and the Special Committee on specific Territories, so that they may benefit
from the related activities of those agencies and organizations;

16. Recommends
that all Governments intensify their efforts within the specialized agencies
and other organizations of the United Nations system of which they are members
to accord priority to the question of providing assistance to the peoples of
the Non-Self-Governing Territories on a case-by-case basis;

17. Draws
the attention of the Special Committee to the present resolution and to the
discussion held on the subject at the substantive session of 2016 of the
Economic and Social Council;

18. Recalls
the adoption by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean on
16 May 1998 of its resolution 574 (XXVII),[4] in
which the Commission called for the mechanisms necessary for its associate
members, including the Non-Self-Governing Territories, to participate, subject
to the rules of procedure of the General Assembly, in the special sessions of
the Assembly convened to review and assess the implementation of the plans of
action of those United Nations world conferences in which the Territories had
originally participated in their capacity as observers, and in the work of the
Council and its subsidiary bodies;

19. Requests
the President of the Council to continue to maintain close contact on those
matters with the Chair of the Special Committee and to report thereon to the
Council;

20. Requests
the Secretary-General to follow up on the implementation of the present
resolution, paying particular attention to cooperation and integration
arrangements for maximizing the efficiency of the assistance activities
undertaken by various organizations of the United Nations system, and to report
thereon to the Council at its 2017 session;

21. Decides
to keep the above questions under continuous review.

* In accordance with rule 72 of the rules of
procedure of the Economic and Social Council.